A friend of mine, suggested I download an app called ‘Meetup’. He only suggested this after I told him that I was interested in going to events, meeting new people, doing wine pairings and just socialising as a whole.

So after I downloaded it, registered a profile and put in my interests, I found myself looking a group managed by a chef and he hosts a lot of wine events. So I RSVP’d myself and my fiancé to one of the events just to see what it’s about and I went just to see if the event is a waste of time or not.

To my surprise, it landed up being one of the best nights that I have ever enjoyed with strangers.

It was hosted at Zio G restaurant in Sunninghill, Sandton. The host was Philippe Frydman, a chef by profession who now consults at a lot of restaurants meaning he has a lot of connections in the hospitality industry, that’s a great position to be in.

So, here we arrive at the Wine Connect event called: “A taste of Leopards Leap with winemaker Eugene van Zyl”.

Arriving to the event we were greeted by Chef Philippe who welcomed us and directed us to where we could sit. We sat next to two men (who also didn’t know each other) and started with the small talk which was entertaining.

So here is how the pairing goes:

• The winemaker’s team pours the wine
• Waiters serve us the food it will be paired with
• The winemaker introduces the wine and what tastes you can expect
• Then you eat and drink the wine while we discussed any thoughts you had

I couldn’t remember to take photos of all the meals and I can’t remember all the pairings, but I do remember one of the best pairs I have ever tasted: It was the Merlot paired with a lamb chop that was marinated and cooked in bone marrow. I just remember my reaction when I tasted the two: it was an explosion of flavours that left me licking my fingers. That’s a pairing that I need to create again.

There was also a weird combination that I don’t think that I would have ever tried that landed up being a great success. They paired their Cabernet Savignon with a dark chocolate and mink cake. Although that is a combination that I would have never thought of, I loved it and I will pair it in the future.

In the beginning of the evening, we were asked to put our business cards into a draw and guess who won a large bottle of wine? Yes, me! So that immediately put me in a  great mood.

To give my first Wine Connect a rating out of 10, the  following was taken into account:

• event preparedness
• quality of activities
• friendliness of team (hosts)
• Conversation with other guests

Around those basic aspects of a social event, Wine Connect scored an impressive 8/10.

They exceeded my expectations and here’s to hoping future sessions will be this entertaining.